Michter's Barrel Strength Rye Review [In Depth]
Michter's Barrel Strength Rye
Michter's Barrel Strength Rye Details
Distillery: Michter’s
Type & Region: Rye, USA
Alcohol: 56.4% (varies by barrel)
Composition: Unknown
Aged: Not stated
Color: 1.6/2.0 on the color scale (mahogany, henna notes)
Price: $100 MSRP
michter's barrel strength rye overview
Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye, the single barrel and barrel proof Kentucky Rye, is an annual release (although they’ve skipped a year here and there) from the lauded Michter’s Distillery / sourcer. In 2021, they thankfully did release a bunch of barrels, and I got my hands on one with the code L21B422 that made it all the way to Tokyo.
I mention sourcer because Michter’s, in it’s current form, has historically sourced whiskey from other Kentucky distilleries for the 10 year bourbon / rye, barrel proof rye, and other releases. It’s hard to say if this 2021 barrel release was sourced or distilled by Michter’s, but at some point they’re probably going to switch over.
While there are other barrel proof Kentucky ryes on the market (e.g., Old Forester, Wilderness Trail, Willett 4 Year), one of the more unique traits of Michter’s Barrel Proof Rye comes from the 103 barrel entry proof (51.5%), one of the lowest in the business. 51.5% is the same ABV as Blanton’s Gold and only 1% higher than Wild Turkey 101, both of which are diluted from a higher barrel proof.
It’s unique because many, if not most, distilleries today use 60%+ ABV entry proof, including Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill. I would know, I’ve even quasi-reviewed their new makes that are bottled at barrel entry proof.
But why have a higher entry proof? One reason – if you’re diluting the whiskey to less than barrel proof, say 40-47%, you can produce more bottles (i.e., have a higher volume) of whiskey per barrel since more water can be added to get to the desired ABV. That means more money, and distilleries are in the business of making money too.
It’s not so relevant for barrel proof whiskeys because water isn’t added anyways, so the number of bottles per barrel just depends on how much whiskey was in the barrel and how greedy the angels were.
The tradeoff, because making whiskey is full of tradeoffs, is that there’s more intense interaction between the distillate and oak over time (because higher ABV = more intense), which can affect how the final whiskey smells and tastes. Some might say for the worse (e.g., Wild Turkey raising their entry proof twice), but I personally can’t attest to that.
Ultimately, the final result matters most, so let’s learn more about that now in this Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye review.
First off, let me just say that wow it’s quite dark.
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michter's barrel strength rye smell
Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye has really heavy and dense scents up front – dark caramel, molasses, caramel nougat, creme brulee, and vanilla, then dark cherry, dark caraway seed and pumpernickel, dark oak that’s not so burnt, and dried pineapple. Yeah, I used dark a lot, but the repetition is truly warranted.
I can sum up the scents as caramel nougat forward with dense earthiness, and a little herbal licorice or dill. It’s completely unexpected to me. The alcohol is also pretty calm after 40 minutes of rest, which is overkill for most.
After swirling I smell dark, heavy, and slightly nutty sweetness – caramel / nougat / butterscotch, dark vanilla, freshly baked pumpernickel bread and caraway seed, dry cherry, roasted oak, cinnamon, dried pineapple, and peanut butter. The sweetness and earthiness make me think of bourbon, not rye.
That more subtle nuttiness catches my attention because it’s wholly unexpected. It’s not intensely nutty like Heaven Hill bourbon, especially Henry McKenna 10 Year, but there’s definitely a gentle nuttiness, reminiscent of Pikesville Rye.
Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye is such a unique smelling rye that one might even say is bourbon-y. I had no idea.
michter's barrel strength rye taste and aftertaste
The flavors blast out of the gate with dense caramel and nougat, pumpernickel, caraway, roasted oak, creme brulee, dried cherry, rosemary, slightly vegetalness, Andes mints (minty chocolate), dark chocolate, and some dark licorice and dried pineapple in the background.
It’s dense, oily, heavy, and very flavorful, led by the dark and rich caramel sweetness followed by a ton of earthiness. It honestly drinks like a high-rye bourbon, akin to Woodinville Cask Strength or New Riff Single Barrel Bourbon. And unlike the scents, the flavors have some bite, although it’s manageable.
With “chewing”, Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye whiskey has oily (likely not chill filtered) and heavy caramel nougat, butterscotch, vanilla, earthy caraway seed and pumpernickel, dried cherry / cranberry, creamy peanut butter (not the dry and grassy nuttiness), dried pineapple, oak, cinnamon, mint, and dark chocolate.
That moderate chocolatiness is a nice touch and unique, something I’d expect in double oaked or 10+ year old bourbon (like Michter’s 10 Year Bourbon). At times it comes together with the mint to give off notes on Andes mint / York peppermint patty.
Butterfinger also comes to mind, coming from that mix of chocolate and creamy peanut butter. They’re not huge parts of the flavors, more of a tertiary one behind the sweet caramel and earthiness.
Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye is huge on boldness and flavor, which is very much up my alley, although it lacks the refinement and complexity of an even better whiskey. One-dimensional isn’t quite the right word, but maybe “lacks range” is.
Dark sweetness and earthiness lead the aftertaste with caramel nougat, caraway seed, rosemary, roasted oak, and Andes chocolate mint. Surprisingly, the mint comes towards the front over time.
After “chewing”, the caramel again is the main trait, followed by caraway seed, pumpernickel, dried cherry, dried pineapple, mint, and dark chocolate. There it is again, the minty chocolate carrying through into the finish, and lingering. That’s very interesting.
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Michter's Barrel Strength Rye Rating
Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye is an awesome rye whiskey that’s unique and strange, yet delicious. The dense and viscous caramel, caramel nougat, and butterscotch are uncharacteristic of most ryes, but I’m not complaining.
Nonetheless, the rye is firmly planted in there with dense caraway seed and pumpernickel that give it a very earthy and slightly rye bready character (but none of the youthful graininess). With that combination of dense sweetness and earthiness, I’d possibly mistake this for a high-rye bourbon like Woodinville Cask Strength in a blind tasting.
That more subtle chocolate and mint Andes Mint / York Peppermint Patty thing is interesting as well, a trait I don’t often find in any whiskey. The slight peanut butter notes also catch me a little off guard, as if I was drinking Pikesville Rye. I doubt this was sourced from Heaven Hill, but who knows…Michter’s will never tell.
There’s a ton to appreciate, but my main critique is how predominantly one note / heavily clustered around a few notes it is. It’s definitely worthy of the “Top Shelf” rating, but it doesn’t have the range, complexity, and “wow” of some of the greats, including Michter’s 10 Year Rye, which oozes rye-y depth.
If you’re accustomed to the more tropical, herbal, and dill-y MGP ryes like Sagamore Spirit, Belle of Bedford, and Smooth Ambler, or even Kentucky ryes such as Willett 4 Year Rye and Sazerac Rye, Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye is nothing like that. It shows off a less common side of rye, expanding the diversity of the category. I guess there’s some overlap with the dark and earthy Redemption 10 Year Barrel Proof Rye.
Now for a bit of a tangent. There seems to be some overlap with Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel with how oily and intensely focused the scents and flavors are on the roasted sugar and earthiness. Of course Michter’s is going to be different because it’s rye and not bourbon (more earthy and less gingery), but the general personality seems similar to me.
So is Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye worth MSRP? I think so, because it offers such a unique and rich experience you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Is it worth secondary? I have a hard time justifying secondary on virtually anything, so I can’t really say. It’s up to you, and you have my review as a data point in your decision-making.
Since Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye is often tough to obtain, the best alternative I can think of is Pikesville Rye. It too is a dark, sweet, and earthy rye with some nuttiness (likely more). The 110 proof / 55% ABV is comparable as well.
Even better, it’s around $50-60 and rarely marked-up, although distribution is a bit spotty at times. I’m also a huge fan of Pikesville Rye, so give it a try if you haven’t already, because it’ll give you an equally as great, albeit slightly different, experience.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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